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Lana Del Rey · S5 E2
Lust for Life
The Weeknd, the Hollywood sign, and a duet that becomes a hit
April 2017. Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd climb the actual Hollywood Sign, sit on top of the letter H, and film a music video for a song they co-wrote with the biggest pop songwriter alive.
"Burning Desire" (Lana Del Rey, 2013). A short film made for Jaguar that most casual fans have never seen, featuring Lana behind the wheel of an F-Type on empty night roads. The title says it all: this is what Lust for Life's passionate, outward-facing energy feels like at 100 mph.
The First Duet on a Title Track
For the first time, Lana puts someone else's voice on a title track. She and The Weeknd had been circling each other for years: Lana contributed to two of his albums before he returned the favor here. "Lust for Life" is the most outward-facing song she's ever made: big chorus, famous co-star, filmed on the most recognizable landmark in Los Angeles.
Sources
Dazed
Rolling Stone
Billboard
TAP TO REVEAL: Which legendary pop songwriter has a co-writing credit on 'Lust for Life'?
“Maybe that's kind of weird to have a feature on the title track, but I really love that song and we had said for a while that we were gonna do something. I did stuff on his last two records.”
— Lana Del Rey on The Weeknd, Dazed, 2017
Burning Desire, Lana Del Rey (2013)
Recorded during the Paradise sessions but released as a standalone single for a Jaguar campaign, "Burning Desire" is the Lana track that most people have never heard. The production is all reverb-drenched guitars and a pulse that builds like an engine warming up. Listen for how her vocal performance is rawer and more unhinged than anything on Born to Die, almost growling through the verses. Four years before Lust for Life, this song already had the fire the new album is built on.
Sources
Pitchfork
Stereogum
The Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles
Lana and The Weeknd filmed the "Lust for Life" video on top of the actual Hollywood Sign, one of the most restricted filming locations in the world.
Lust for Life: The Numbers
Beautiful People Beautiful Problems ft. Stevie Nicks, Lana Del Rey
From Lust for Life (2017). If The Weeknd represents Lana collaborating with a peer, Stevie Nicks represents her collaborating with a hero. The Fleetwood Mac legend trades verses with Lana over a folk-rock arrangement, and their voices find a warmth together that neither expected. Two generations of California dreamers, one song.
Beautiful People Beautiful Problems ft. Stevie Nicks, Lana Del Rey (2017)
"We got so much in common, we're both alone" they sing together, and the lyric captures something real about both artists: women who built careers on romantic longing and have paid the price for it in public.
What is the name of Lana's collaboration with The Weeknd on his 2016 album Starboy?
The collaborations made headlines, but the real story on Lust for Life is more private. Next: A$AP Rocky, a love affair that bleeds into every song it touches, and a nuclear anxiety anthem written at Coachella that nobody saw coming.
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